What Do Hitters Actually See?

Comments · 368

• IR

  @ironarbitrage · 4 months ago (edited)

  I played a lot of baseball and my father bought a batting cage when I was a teen. If you hit enough, time slows down when the ball comes in kind of like The Matrix, but only for a split second. If you don't practice for years, it is a blur again.

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• KA

  @Katsos44 · 4 months ago

  I’m a pitcher and it always made me laugh when teammates would tell me I need to change a grip or hold the ball differently cause they could see the “spin” too clearly, I’d always tell them I had another grip and ask if they’d help me out, I’d get on the mound and throw my fastball and then throw my cutter and every single time they’d say “yeah man definitely stick with the new grip I couldn’t tell spin at all that time” I never changed my grips, hitters can’t see spin direction or infer spin rate AT ALL once a pitch is moving/spinning more than a JV kid. Also, even if they can subtly tell color of laces easier between pitch types, by the time they are sure which pitch is which, it is by them, they can’t use that info in a plate appearance what so ever. One last food for thought, hitters usually tend to say that hitting a machine is harder than hitting off a real pitcher, but they can’t tell you why. Subconsciously they can pick up multiple idiosyncrasies that allow them to more confidently and quickly determine pitch type, but they can’t consciously recognize what they’re seeing.

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• DR

  @dread6554 · 4 months ago

  I wonder if anyone has done experiments with different colored laces. Particularly what the consequences would be if there was little to no contrast between the laces and the leather

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• JA

  @jameskim1505 · 4 months ago

  I was like David WHO ?!!!

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• NE

  @nebulas7404 · 4 months ago

  Might be your best thumbnail of the year

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• NA

  @nahbruhnope · 4 months ago

  I think half of people seeing "spin" is actually just plate approach and baseball knowledge. Knowing where guys typically throw what does a lot of heavy lifting in those initial milliseconds after release. You're probably not getting a straight change up and in, and you're probably not getting a splitter below the zone at 3-0 with a runner on, for example.

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• ST

  @staceykw2336 · 4 months ago

  @<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufthqCzsrdI&amp;t=60">1:00</a> I actually got them both perfectly, but there&apos;s no way I could do it live haha

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• IM

  @ImToad · 3 months ago (edited)

  I currently play college baseball. 95% of the time we are actually using our brain to try and predict the next pitch based off of previous pitches and patterns. Most hitters (including myself) actually look over towards either dugout in between pitches to try and read signs to get more information on the upcoming pitch. Most of the time it’s hard to get information from the other teams dugout so we look at our own and a player on my team will give me a sign that gives me a general idea of what pitch is coming. Before the game even starts, the assistant manager normally hands us a little paper that shows the opposing pitchers best pitches. Now this isn’t every time, and I’d say about half the time the information is complete bogus. But once the pitcher starts the windup we aren’t really worried about what TYPE of pitch is coming. rather, we are trying to pay attention to where it’s headed. The spin on the ball makes it easier to see where it’s going. I normally don’t know for certain what kind of pitch was thrown till after it crosses the plate. But hey, maybe that’s why I’m not in the mlb LOL

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• DE

  @Deactivated1122 · 4 months ago

  Knowing the pitches before you step to the plate really helps. Then you can watch for a deviation in the release. Guessing pitches also helps and it really helps to just watch some pitches go by. I like identifying the spin direction and spin rate when I can. Practice really helps

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• SA

  @Sam_on_YouTube · 4 months ago

  We live in a simulation created by our brains and constantly updated by our sensory input. Our memories get altered based on our brains correcting the perception we had in real time based on new information perceived after the fact. Hitters may see a fastball rise, or see the laces on the baseball... in their brains. But that doesn&apos;t mean the message goes from their eyes to their brains during flight. It means they have the perception of having seen it after picking up all the cues that their brains use to tell them what they should have seen.

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• AN

  @anthonyesbensen233 · 4 months ago

  There is a Jeff Francour interview with pitchinfninja where he kind of discusses some basic things and also hates it when hitters say they can see spin.

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• MR

  @Mr.Jonathan1 · 4 months ago

  Edgar Martinez former Seattle player would load tennis balls in to the pitching machine with numbers sharpied on them. &nbsp;He didnt get every one right but got to a place where he could call out most of the numbers before hitting the ball. &nbsp;He started doing this because he had a sight problem but ended up making him the best hitter on the team.

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